Life

From the Pros: Avoid These Off-Season Snafus

Don't make the same mistakes that they have — dial in December so you can nail next year's goals.

by Megan Evoe

With the holiday season upon us, many of us are tapping into our personal days to spend more time with family and friends, enjoy winter festivities, and recharge from a year of hard work.

When triathlon is your job, being your own boss can sometimes backfire when it’s time to lessen the workload and savor the gift of off-season. With the pressure to stay fit and be ready to compete in the new year, many pro athletes accidentally skate right through their off-season without a real break, while some dive head first into the seasonal treats and make a permanent dent in their couch. Read on to get a glimpse of the mistakes many pros have regretted making during their off-season.

Jeanne Collonge

"The biggest mistake I’ve made during the off-season was in 2013. I had come off an awesome season and was feeling great and motivated. I went on a holiday in Hawai'i with my boyfriend to watch a race, not compete myself, but instead of leaving my bike in its box, I used it. I also used my swimsuit and my running shoes. Even though I loved being in Hawai'i, I had no off-season, no moment when I did nothing, or anything except triathlon. The next season was wasted with illness and injuries. Off-season should be used to do the things you can’t do, like rest, when you are in full-time training."

Pedro Gomes

"The biggest mistake I've made is to actually train during the off season instead of becoming a couch potato. I like to terminate my season with a race, which has actually worked against me because whether I do great or badly, I don’t want to lose my fitness, so instead of resting during my time off, I find excuses to get out and train (especially if my buddies are out on an insane trail in the Grand Canyon). On the other hand, if my last race went poorly, I tell myself I don’t deserve the time off. I've learned that if I don't seriously take two to three weeks completely away from triathlon, I struggle halfway through the season."

"The off-season is such a critical time of year that many pro athletes ignore. During the season, we push our bodies to the absolute extreme in terms of training, racing and travel, so the off season should be a time to decompress from that, reset hormone levels, and recharge the mind.

I take one month of low stress, unstructured training. For at least seven days of that, I have no training whatsoever. It’s when I don’t take this crucial time off that I don’t recover as well and don’t feel rested when I start getting into the new season’s training. Taking a break can be hard for pro athletes as we are so accustomed to keeping our bodies moving, but without taking some downtime, it is almost impossible to reach your potential during the racing season where there is money on the line and it actually counts!"

Callum Millward

"It may sound cliché, but the biggest mistake I have made during the off-season is when I over indulged in food, supplemented with absolutely zero exercising for too long. One summer, while living on the Gold Coast in Australia, I was having such a great time enjoying the beach, relaxing, and enjoying sleep-ins, that my standard four week off-season blew out to 11 weeks.

I’m a big proponent of mentally and physically refreshing at the end of season, however, I should have continued some kind of very light cardio. It was a shock to the system when I eventually got back into training. You don’t appreciate how fit you are until you sit on the couch for the best part of three months and then attempt an easy 20-minute run. My advice would be to incorporate some hiking, surfing, or anything that gets the blood flowing. It could be a hobby such as mountain biking, which is too risky during the season, so what better time to get onto the trails."

Lisa Roberts

"The biggest mistake I have made during the off-season is not getting quality 'away time' from the sport so that I can mentally recharge from the daily swim, bike, and run grind. I ended up continuing with my weekly workout routine instead of mixing it up with a variety of other fun ways to exercise and taking more days off. This left me burned out even at the beginning of the next season.

On the flip side, I've also made the mistake of trying a new activity and getting a little too carried away and nearly injuring myself, like the time I tried snowboarding. I went headlong into learning how to snowboard one year and for all my practicing, never got past the point of catching the edge wrong and repeatedly smacking down onto the slope. Thankfully I avoided permanent injury and I haven't tried snowboarding since!"

Lionel Sanders

"My biggest mistake in the off-season is actually taking too much time off, meaning not doing any exercise for a few weeks. I found that you actually lose something if you take too much down time and risk injury. I have actually had a slight injury from losing most of the training adaptations. Now, I won't actually take any time off during the off-season and just do very easy, unstructured training throughout my recovery period."